Wealthspire Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in MetLife were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MET. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 118.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 10,108,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $635,957,000 after buying an additional 5,474,449 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in MetLife by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,440,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $468,087,000 after acquiring an additional 276,364 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in MetLife by 0.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,829,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,763,000 after purchasing an additional 17,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in MetLife by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,878,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,468,000 after purchasing an additional 104,116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,724,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,327,000 after purchasing an additional 495,027 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MetLife Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MET traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.66. 100,204 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,497,048. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.95 and a 52-week high of $74.68. The stock has a market cap of $51.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83. The business had revenue of $17.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.73 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 20.39% and a net margin of 3.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 6th. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. This is a boost from MetLife’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. MetLife’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

MetLife announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MET shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of MetLife from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of MetLife from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MetLife from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MetLife currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MetLife news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,174,893.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.